Without You (InuxKagome)
by A Shinigami's Game
Summary: When Kagome decides it's high time for a break from her demon friend InuYasha, she makes a run for Koga's wolf caves. But InuYasha snaps, his anger boiling over, and in a fatal and rash moment, he throws away his sword, Tetsusaiga, which contains him from being released into his demonic form. What happens when InuYasha is broken, but has no way to fix himself? Read to find out!
1. Leave Me

I sat in the grass beside Inuyasha, my half-demon friend. Well, these days I wasn't exactly sure what we were. He glanced at me with his golden eyes, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"Teh," was all he could reply. I laughed and looked out at the beautiful scenery. It wasn't so green and lush in Tokyo. We sat on a hill that overlooked lavender mountains with snowy tops and jade forests that contained unknown treasures and dangers.

"What?" he asked, looking at me again. I shook my head.

"You. Me. Them. Us. The world. It's all so different here," I said, staring him in the eye, but only momentarily, for he shifted his gaze like he always does. "And yet, it's the same. I can't believe it."

He was strangely silent and thoughtful for a moment, staring at the distant mountains, where Koga lives. Then he finally spoke in a quiet voice that was very much unlike him. "Kagome, what's it really like in your world? I mean, I've never been there more than a few minutes," he asked timidly. I thought for a minute before answering.

"Inuyasha, I can't explain it any other way other than its home. It's so different here…" I began, feeling the tears well up. The thought of home choked me up these days, I don't know why though. He nodded.

"Inuyasha?" I said. "Can I ask you a question?" He shrugged.

"About… Kikyo?" I said carefully watching him. He seemed unfazed. He just shrugged again.

"Are you really, going to follow her in death once the jewel is gone? Are you going to follow her to Hell?" I kept my eyes on him the whole time. He looked down at the grass.

"I'm headed there anyway," was all he said. I nodded and he looked back up at me, finally meeting my eyes.

"Kagome… I," he began, like he wanted to change his answer. But I wouldn't have it. A strange feeling of calm anger fell over me like a blanket.

"No, no need to explain. I see how it is," I said, tears falling from my eyes from earlier. But they only added to the effect, I knew Inuyasha couldn't stand crying. "You're just going to leave Miroku, Shippo, Old Kaede, Sango, and me to fight the rest of the demons while you go to Hell with Kikyo. Fine," I finished with a hard blow, I could tell because he was staring at me with a shocked and hurt expression on his face, his jaw hung slack. I sighed.

"Kagome, I want to…" he began.

"Want to what Inuyasha? Is Hell so desirable to you? Well, I'm sorry that you must resort to such extremities for happiness. I'm even sorrier that I can't give you the happiness you want myself," I said, a sharp tone to my voice. He choked on his own tears. I never have seen him cry, it was a shock. I didn't think it was possible.

"Kagome! Don't do that! Don't say that! You know I want to stay but… but I can't," he whispered.

"Inuyasha, you can say no," I said. "I can't believe you'd just leave us all here without you. You're so…" I couldn't find the right word for a minute. "Selfish," I finally said. Before he could say anything else I stood, wrapping my arms around myself. I sighed shakily, looking out at the magnificent scenery.

"You know what's funny?" I said. "I want to go with you, if that's where you're going. But I can't because there just isn't any room between you and Kikyo for me," I was surprisingly calm, even though tears rapidly ran down my face like waterfalls. Inuyasha was silent but I could hear his sharp intake of breath at my last sentence. I smiled at the distant mountains.

"Inuyasha? I've decided something," I said to him, though I was looking elsewhere. Anywhere but his eyes. "I'm going to go see Koga for a week or so, to give you some time because I know you have a lot on your mind right now and I am but a burden to you. I'm just a human that happened to stumble into your life, unfortunately for you so, I'm going to go and just leave you alone," I spoke to the forest, not him. But then I turned and kneeled down in front of him, putting my hand on the side of his face. "Do me a favor, will you?"

He didn't do anything but stare at me with an open mouth. "Protect them," I nodded in the direction of our little family on the hill. It seemed like only yesterday it was just me and Inuyasha looking for fragments of the Sacred Jewel, but I knew that was almost over now. Naraku had almost all the fragments, and when he did collect them all, Kikyo would take them, kill him, and take Inuyasha with her to Hell. I dreaded that day. "And don't get yourself killed."

I stood, taking my hand from his face reluctantly. He shook his head and reached out to me with his clawed hand, but I turned on my heel and quickly walked away before I could convince myself to stay. Or he could convince me to stay.

"Sango!" I called to the tall, slender woman who had been through so much with us already. She was sitting next to Miroku, the monk that has been with us since nearly the beginning.

"What is it, Kagome?" she asked.

"May I borrow Kirara?"

"Where are you going, Kagome?" inquired Shippo, who'd been here before even Miroku.

"I'm going to go see Koga for a week," I said, and everyone looked at me funny.

"But why?" asked Miroku.

"Yeah, did you have another fight with Inuyasha?" said Sango. I shook my head and smiled at their worried faces.

"No, no. Don't worry about it. I think Inuyasha and I just need some time apart for awhile okay?" I said loud enough so that Inuyasha could hear. I turned to see if he had, but he was bent over in the grass, hands over his face. Had I hurt him that badly?

Miroku seemed to understand. He nodded. "Let her take Kirara and she can keep her there until she comes back," he said, looking at Sango. She sighed and nodded too. But Shippo was running towards me. I caught him up in my arms and held him fast to me.

"Oh, Kagome, come back soon please. I need you here. We need you here," he paused a minute and leaned towards my ear. "Inuyasha needs you here," he whispered. I smiled.

"I wish he did," I said, setting him on the ground and hopping on top of Kirara, who had my backpack in her mouth.

"Alright, Kirara, take good care of Kagome," called Sango. I grinned when Kirara growled her acknowledgement. All of a sudden, I felt my heart jerk a knot. I glanced at Inuyasha again, who was watching from between his fingers, ears twitching in anger. I waved at him, wiping the tears from my eyes as Kirara took off over the tops of the trees, gliding on her fiery paws in the direction of the mountain that was shared between the Birds of Paradise and the Wolf-Demon clan that belonged to Koga.


	2. Koga Vs InuYasha

By the time we reached Koga's mountain Kirara was exhausted and collapsed almost immediately once we landed. I stayed to watch over her and make sure she was okay, but she motioned for me to go on. I nodded and walked up the path that led to Koga's wolf clan.  
"Kagome!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I turned to see Koga running up the path at blinding speed. He snatched me up in his arms in one swift movement and sprinted ahead.  
"Koga! My goodness, what are you running from?" I said, a bit confused.  
"It's Inuyasha! He's gone mad!" Koga yelled with genuine fear causing his voice to tremble.  
"I-Inuyasha? But, I left him just over an hour ago, how could he have gotten here so fast?" I wondered aloud. Koga skidded to an abrupt halt and looked at me sternly with his large brown eyes.  
"Kagome, you sound like you anticipated an attack." He said. I shook my head fiercely.  
"NO!" I yelled. Koga looked taken aback. "No, I didn't know anything about this Koga, or I would have came to warn you." I said with a more gentle tone.  
He opened his mouth to speak, but had no time for words to escape.  
"Oh you would, would you?!" Inuyasha's voice drifted from a tree above us. All I was able to see was the pain in his golden eyes as he came crashing through the branches before Koga sidestepped his attack.  
"Are you in love with him, Kagome? Has he caught your heart with soft words?" Inuyasha yelled in fury and swiped his claws at Koga. "Iron reaver, soul stealer!"  
Koga dodged just in time for the yellow slashes that came from Inuyasha's claws to whiz past his head, but my foot wasn't so lucky.  
Blood dripped from the hole in my shoe and I winced in pain.  
"Now you've gone and done it!" Screamed Koga at Inuyasha, who was only standing now in shock. "You're an idiot! A hot-headed fool who can't keep his temper! Now look what happens when you can't control yourself!" He gestured grandly to my foot, which had a deep gash that was gushing dark red blood. Inuyasha averted his gaze.  
"NO! Look at it Inuyasha! You hurt her!" Koga kept screaming, my head was starting to hurt.  
Inuyasha turned suddenly back to me in Koga's arms, an angry look on his face. "This is all your fault! Damn it, Kagome! If you hadn't left none of this would have happened!" He yelled at me. I cringed and he looked like he instantly regretted what he said, but I was too angry to care.  
"No Inuyasha, if you weren't such a jerk this wouldn't have happened!" I squealed despite my headache and the fact I was beginning to feel faint because of the loss of blood.  
He looked hurt, but I couldn't have cared less. I flung my arms around Koga's neck and buried my face in his chest, glaring at Inuyasha out of the corner of my eye.  
"Koga," I said in my most seductive voice. "Take me away from him."  
He looked down at me in shock almost as obvious as Inuyasha's but nodded, clutching me to him, casting a hateful look at Inuyasha, and running with his amazing speed down the trail where I'd originally been headed.  
I looked at Inuyasha over Koga's shoulder, now feeling a sharp pang of guilt as I remembered his torn expression, but he was nowhere to be seen. I turned back to Koga, again burying my face in his chest. And I cried.


	3. InuYasha's Big Mistake

It was almost sunset and Koga and his hunting crew had not yet returned, and I was beginning to get restless. I paced the cave back and forth, checking every five minutes outside to see if I could hear the joyous clamor that arose when Koga returned from trips like these, but there was none. The only sounds outside were the distant howls of the wolves and the soft chirps of the crickets that I'd never had a chance to hear back in Tokyo.  
One foot in front of the other. Crunch, crunch, crunch, went the gravel, one louder then the other for I limped because of my injured foot. But that had been taken care of, mostly. Some nice women from the village nursery came with clean water from a nearby river and washed out my cut that was much deeper than I had thought. They then wrapped it in torn cloth from deceased warriors who had been killed by the Birds of Paradise. It was supposed to be magical, for the spirits of those warriors "linger in them", but it wasn't really helping in the least.  
A couple of howls outside drew my attention away from my foot. I limped over to the cave mouth, leaning on the lip of the cave for support and squinted out into the fading daylight. I couldn't see much but a few lanterns swinging about on tall poles. As my eyes adjusted though, I could see people and wolves alike crowding around the beginning of the trail leading outside the village. Yells and shouts could be heard even from where I was standing, so I hobbled and wobbled up to where everyone was, pushing through the crowd.  
As I passed everyone fell silent, words dying on their lips almost as soon as their mouths opened. They all stared at me sadly as I pushed on, which concerned me greatly. But soon I didn't have to push anymore because everyone parted, like Moses and the Red Sea, and I could stumble my way to the center of the rukus and confusion.  
"Oh!" I cried as I limped up to the epicenter where a large circle of people had formed around a body. "Oh, Koga!"  
He turned his head slightly in my direction at the sound of his name and beckoned with a shaky hand for me to step fourth. But I hesitated there at the edge of the crowd, unsure of what I would see, but began to slowly limp towards Koga's body that was lying on the dirt. I quickened my pace as panic rose in my throat. He must be badly hurt.  
"Koga!" I squealed as I reached him, dropping to my knees with a thud and pulling his limp head onto my lap. He coughed hoarsely, then with more volume, turning onto his stomach and facing away from me so I couldn't see the blood emerging from his throat.  
"Oh my God, Koga, what happened?" I practically yelled in his ear. He turned back to me, lying his head back in my lap.  
"In-Inu...yasha ... attack ... angry at me... for loving you..." he managed to mutter, coughing in between fragments. I shook my head furiously.  
"What!? Why would he do that? What does he care?! He's got his Kikyo to worry about, why does he care if you love me?" I yelled aloud, everyone in the crowd flinching at my tone of voice. It was completely silent after a minute except the sound of Koga's heavy breathing and the thud of my blood in my ears. I'd never been so angry at Inuyasha in my life.  
I glared around the crowd, faces turning pale under my hard gaze. "Well? What are we waiting for? Get Koga to the cave and as many attendants as possible to care for him! The rest of you, go gather herbs and water for him, he must heal!" I said in a flat tone, though everyone immediately scrambled to do their jobs like ants at a picnic.  
Before anyone could take him away, I leaned down and whispered in Koga's ear, "I'll get him this time. I'll get him to understand. I promise, this will never happen again." I pulled back and brushed his sweaty black hair out of his eyes so I could see them.  
I almost cried once I locked gazes with Koga, and I'll never forget the way his eyes looked that day. Normally bright and cheerful, his ocean-blue eyes almost glowed in the dim lantern light. It was like all the sad things in the world had been stuck together in two blue orbs, and those two blue orbs of grief and despair were Koga's eyes at that moment. So lifeless. So desperate for the light.  
He smiled, and that broke the spell I was under. But it only lasted a minute, for it obviously pained him to do so. I stroked his tan cheek in sympathy, and he lifted a scarred hand to hold mine to his face and he sighed.  
Suddenly he propped himself up on his elbow, gently pressing his warm lips to mine for a few brief seconds. But in those few moments, I tasted blood, hope, fear, and most of all love. That kiss sealed Koga to my heart for all time, no matter what happened.  
Then he pulled back, eyes still closed, and whispered in my ear, "Inuyasha... threw away... Tetsuaiga... demon form..."  
I gasped, the hand that I had placed on his chest clenched into a fist. Before I could say anything, though, Koga was scooped up into strong arms and carried into the cave with care.  
But all I could do was sit there where Koga had lain, frozen with shock and fear. Inuyasha had let his demon blood course through his veins once again, destroying himself and Koga in the process. I had to find Tetsuiaga, and I had to get it to him fast, before it was too late.


	4. Bringing InuYasha Back

I ran like there was no tomorrow to where Koga had instructed me to go, heart pounding. Thoughts and images flashed in my head as I sprinted towards the well. Inuyasha dared to throw Tetsuaiga away and so carelessly destroy himself, I just couldn't bear the thought, and the pain it caused in my chest pushed me faster.

The trees passed in a blur until I could no longer single one out from another. I was approaching my destination so quickly it only took about fifteen minutes to arrive, but when I did; my every heartbeat ached in fear and every breath brought a fresh wave of pain. There in front of the well was Inuyasha with his back to me, staring up at the moon.

"K-Kagome…" I heard him whisper softly, his hands clenching into fists by his side. "Kagome!" he yelled now, throwing his head back. He looked to be in pain. "Must remember… got to remember…" he muttered, dropping to his knees. He muttered the same thing over and over until he finally just fell flat on his belly in the cool grass.

"I-Inuyasha!" I yelled, running to him and putting a hand on his shoulder as I kneeled next to him.

"K…Ka…gome…" he whispered through his silver hair that covered his face.

"Inuyasha, why? Why'd you do it?" I said softly, raising a shaky head and pushing back some of his hair. I gasped and fell backwards on the ground. "You're still…!"

It was true. He was still in demon form, not recovered yet, but he was able to recognize who I was. He still had some of his sane mind in the hell he was probably in, some kind of state between full demon and half demon.

"S-sorry…" he whispered, shuddering at my touch. "He just… made me so… so angry…"

"Inuyasha, you attacked him for no reason! He wanted nothing to do with you and you just… just… almost killed him!" Even though I said it in a low voice, I couldn't hide the anger and hurt in my voice. He flinched at my tone.

I looked down at the grass for a moment in guilt and realized that I had no reason to feel guilty. Inuyasha let out a long, shaky breath and my eyes immediately reverted to him again with worry. He had gone completely limp and with his ruby colored eyes rolled back into his head. I screamed.

"My god, Inuyasha!"

He was barely breathing. I put an ear to his chest to hear the faintest of heartbeats throbbing in his ribcage, each one ringing with grave finality. I scooped up his body with strength I never knew I possessed and ran in the direction of Koga's clan only because there was the closet place I could convince someone to give him help. But I would make sure Koga and Inuyasha were never, ever together.

As I ran I began to think, and think hard, about a possible reason for Inuyasha to attack Koga so viciously and sacrifice his own soul and well being by throwing away his greatest weapon and his greatest protection.

Why indeed?

At least I was able to save them both. Or… I hoped I had…

Well, now I have Inuyasha in my arms, where he's safest right now, and that's all that matters. I would bring back my Inuyasha if it's the last thing I would ever do.


	5. Trust

I had reached the caverns the wolf clans lived in around dawn break, my legs weak and my arms trembling under Inuyasha's growing weight. My every breath I had to force into my lungs, where it was quickly ripped out with each shaky step. Nevertheless, I sprinted through the village and into the large space where Koga was being kept and lay down beside his peacefully resting body after depositing Inuyasha into the care of Miroku and Sango after they had arrived with Old Kaede.

My eyelids fluttered with exhaustion as I turned my head on the hay and watched Koga sleep. He looked so much more… at peace with the world then he did when he was awake. Inuyasha was the same way. I smiled softly and let out a sigh of partial relief.

"So what now, Koga?" I whispered, reaching over and brushing a raven colored bang out of his closed eyes. At the silence I sighed again, turning back around to face the mouth of the cave, curling into a tight ball on the ground, the hay crunching under my weight, and closed my eyes, willing sleep to befall my tired body.

When finally I began to drift into unconsciousness, a soft chuckle came from behind me. "I'm not so sure what happens now, Kagome. I was hoping you could tell me."

I nearly jumped out of my own pants as I spun to face whoever had spoken, immediately relieved when my chocolate colored eyes met a pair of glowing blue ones.

"K-Koga! Jeesh, you nearly scared me to death! I didn't know you were awake," I exclaimed to the smiling boy, who laughed heartily in response.

"I could never sleep when you worried me like you did," he said softly. I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"You shouldn't have been worried, Koga. Inuyasha would never hurt me," I said to him, confidence ringing in my voice like a bell.

All he did was turn his head away from me to stare at the rocky cavern wall, darkened by nightfall, but lightening by the minute into a pale gray.

"You can never know with him, Kagome. I want you to realize that before it's too late," he told the wall. I let out an exasperated breath and propped myself up on my bony elbows to stare at his left cheek, the only part of his face visible to me.

"He won't hurt me. I don't know why that concept is so foreign to you Koga." When I saw his strong shoulder rise slightly in a flinch, my tone softened. "Please, try to understand. Please?" But he folded his arms across his chest and turned back to me with a disapproving look on his face.

"No. I'm not about to trust him after everything that's happened lately. Honestly, you shouldn't expect me to. And I wish you wouldn't trust him either," he said sternly with a tone much unlike himself. He sounded more like an alpha wolf then the Koga I knew. "You're just too forgiving, Kagome. And one day, it'll cost you. When that day comes, I probably won't be there to save you."

Koga's grim speech struck a nerve deep inside me that caused my face to light up a bright red.

"You know what, Koga? Maybe it's not me who's blind here, it's you! Have you ever thought that, just possibly, you're wrong? Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you don't know Inuyasha like I do?" I stood up angrily, causing him to come up onto his elbows, a look of hurt on his face. But that didn't stop me. I was too frustrated with all of this nonsense to care. "Why won't you become more trusting? Why won't you just stop picking fights with Inuyasha and just… Just be friends?! I know it's hard, but at least you're not making me choose between the two of you!"

That seemed to do it for Koga. He laid there, a vulnerable and shocked expression on his face as I stormed out on my way to find where my friends had taken Inuyasha.

When I finally was able to find my allies they were huddled around Inuyasha's body, angry yells coming from the midst of them. I rolled my eyes. Sounded like to me, Inuyasha was back to his normal self.

"I said don't touch me you stupid monk!" Inuyasha's voice rose out from the middle of the circle of friends around him and I jogged up just in time to see Miroku flying across the lawn. I heard many gasps from my friends mingle with my own as Miroku landed with a soft thud on the dark grass at the bank of a nearby river.

Sango shot Inuyasha a glare and hurried to help the twitching monk on the ground. I shook my head and ran up to the group around my feisty half-demon friend, pushing through and stopping at his feet.

Inuyasha was sprawled on the ground, hands supporting him beside his hips, his shirt halfway down his shoulder and the other side still where it needed to be though it did not hide the huge gash that Koga had obviously inflicted that spanned from his neck and straight down beyond the waist of his pants. He then looked up at me with his golden eyes, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Hey Kago-…"

"Inuyasha…" my voice held a familiar menace in it that he recognized. His eyes grew wide and he tried to scoot back away from me.

"No! Don't! It was an accident, I swear!" he protested, though he knew as well as anyone that it was too late.

"SIT!" Suddenly he face-planted the ground between his legs, hands flying up and in a flash of light, his nose was buried deep in the dirt.

A low growl came from his throat as he pulled his face from the earth, spitting out a mouthful of black clay and pebbles.

"Dammit, Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted as he glared at me, but I knew I would be eventually forgiven within the next five minutes.

I rolled my eyes again and stooped down to pull his shirt back together.

"Stop acting like a brat, Inuyasha," I said in a calm, monotone voice, only mild irritation could be detected.

"Keh!" I looked up from Inuyasha's shirt and saw him blushing furiously and looking away, eyebrows furrowed. Laughing, I stood up and smiled down at him.

"C'mon Inuyasha! Lighten up!" I said just as Sango came back to the circle, Miroku's arm around her neck, his free hand holding his head. He frowned at Inuyasha.

"I was only trying to help heal your godforsaken wounds," he grumbled at him. Inuyasha simply stood and brushed off the thighs of his pants, folding his arms across his chest, taking a mother-like stance, as if he were lecturing the pained monk.

"Well, I can never know when it comes to you," he replied simply, a small smile playing on his lips. All Miroku did was grunt in response as he slid himself to the ground, trailing his hand down poor Sango's back. We all knew what was coming next.

SLAP.

When Inuyasha and I turned back to face Miroku warily there was a red handprint on his right cheek, his hand disconnected from Sango's body in shock. He made a small, pained whine in the back of his throat as Sango stepped away with an angry blush on her cheeks.

"Hmph! I don't even know why I try sometimes!" she exclaimed to me. I just shook my head sadly.

"Honestly, Miroku…" I began, but was cut off by Inuyasha.

"One day you're gonna get more than a slap. You're gonna get your ass kicked by a girl."

I didn't much like the way he emphasized the word "girl" but it would only cause Inuyasha and I to argue once more if I spoke my distaste. Miroku only frowned up at Inuyasha, moving his hands to support him from behind as he leaned back on them.

"I wouldn't much mind that to be honest…" he said, a faint smile on his face as he day dreamed, but we all just groaned and sat down beside him.

"Perv…" I heard Inuyasha mutter under his breath and giggled, but neither Sango nor Miroku seemed to have noticed.

"Say," began Miroku, looking around, "where's Old Kaede?"

"Right over there," said Inuyasha with a dismissive wave of his clawed hand. We all turned our heads then, to the small fire the old woman managed to produce from the mossy wood of the forest. She glanced at us and then turned back to the miniature bonfire, stirring something in a pot that was supported by two scrawny sticks over the neon flames.

Together, our small crew stood and moved over to the worn priestess, settling down around the fire as close as possible. It was only when the warmth of the crackling wood was provided that I noticed the air outside contained a slight chill in the upcoming dawn break.

"Late dinner or early breakfast?" Inuyasha asked playfully with a smirk as he got comfortable in the grass across from her, next to me.

"Neither," replied Old Kaede, obviously not amused. "It's a potion. I need to try and postpone the effects of the new moon tonight as much as possible."

I looked up at Inuyasha, then at the fading moon. It was no more than a slit of light. I was amazed I hadn't noticed. Turning my eyes back to Inuyasha, I saw his lips compressed against themselves in a stern expression as he stared at the ground, his signature, arrogant smirk completely vanished.

All of us were silent as Old Kaede stirred slowly, occasionally throwing in a chopped herb or pounded plant.

Eventually she was done and she removed the pot from its makeshift stands, allowing the sticks to fall and be consumed by flames. She then poured the foul-smelling, purplish liquid in a small flask, shoving in the cork and shaking the round bottle a little before holding it out to me.

"I want you to take it, Kagome. I know how Inuyasha is. His pride is too great for his well-being. Please, it is essential he takes this at sunset today. Make for sure he drinks it," she said, a pleading look in her tired old eye, eyebrow knitted over the patched one.

Despite Inuyasha's glare, I took the flask gently with a small nod, and strung the leather strap around my body diagonally.

Inuyasha and Kaede began to argue about his pride and the difference between self-respect and survival instinct. I didn't bother to listen, for I knew that by the end, Kaede would have won in our minds, but Inuyasha would believe he had proven his point. A useless point really.

Instead of joining in or trying to follow the argument to take a side, I decided to take a rest. I turned my back to the fire and lay down, snuggling in the cool, soft grass at the edge of the firelight. No one seemed to notice that I was bedded down, ready to sleep, so they kept up their argument and chitter-chatter. Not that I minded in the least. The background noise was comforting in a way. It reminded me of my home back in Tokyo, where the distant rumble of laughter and the sound of cars on the freeway were always there. However, when I was home in the country, crickets forever chirped their elegant songs and frogs croaked their chorus, both in harmony with the other.

Suddenly, I felt tears pooling on the rims of my chocolate-brown eyes. The world looked like it was swimming in my homesick tears. My stomach clenched, and I began to sob quietly, not noticing anyone had seen me until it was too late.

"Kagome?" Sango's quiet voice drifted over to my ears over the sound of the crackling fire. Suddenly, I became aware of everyone's eyes turned on me. "Are you alright?"

"What's wrong, Kagome?" It was Inuyasha this time. I sat up and looked over my shoulder at him, my tears making hot trails down my cheeks.

"Inuyasha…" I took a shaky breath, knowing I couldn't go back home, but wishing so badly I could. I was probably flunking class, more than likely labeled as a drop-out. No one in Japan likes drop-outs. Great, that was exactly what I needed.

My thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha standing and looking down at me sadly. In his golden eyes I saw a knowing look, the one that lets me know that he knows exactly what I want to say, and I don't have to say it if I don't want to. He extended a clawed hand down to me with a tiny, sad smile on his face.

"Come on. Take a walk with me."

I stared at him, stunned.

All I could think was, _"Boy, he's changed. But I like it. It makes me feel more like… I can trust him."_


End file.
